so i'm here at the ntn temple i'm at the pilgrim lodge in my bedroom i'm about to go to bed because
i'm joining the monks for a morning ritual don't want to screw it up in front of all the monks
i'm gonna trim you you know just to make sure that you you stay trim and as beautiful as you
are they're professional monks they have to use strength the strength comes from your waist no no
i'm also very excited as well because it's just going to be really interesting immersing myself
and really getting an insight into the monastic lifestyle i don't know how to use chopsticks
my name is Ciaran Lyons my life is pretty normal but not everyone's life is like mine some
are rarely seen i'm about to go deep inside these hidden worlds to experience life done differently
the nantian temple is the largest buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere
and is home to more than two dozen buddhist monks well nuns specifically
kieran have you tried these robes on before no have you woken up with a film crew in your room
5 am in the morning bells ringing camera crew here
oh oh yeah yep that's good ready to be a monk time to make my way to the courtyard of the main shrine
now i did get a crash course in buddhist etiquette
so i know the basics enough to be respectful i'm just a little slow
every morning and every evening these monks come here and chant and pray to the buddha
i have to admit there's a certain energy being inside this shrine hearing this chanting and to
save people from agony and misery i realized my purpose in this society is to contribute
i know i study buddhism for perfection
there's a lot i want to learn about being a monk but top of the list is meditation
i know it can be so good for you but i'm just so bad at it it was it was nice it
was just refreshing that's just such a nice way to start the day with tiny bit of giggles
coming out but then also as well um a bit of i think sometimes you're so relaxed you feel a bit
sleepy um you're falling asleep that's very normal you're listening to your body actually our body
has been sending us those signals all along unfortunately our mind is just so cluttered
yeah so i need to declutter my mind with the help of venerable dryway she started life as
an ai software engineer in singapore in the 80s after years of managing conflict in her workplace
jui went in search of a different path landing on buddhism she became a monk 20 years ago yes
so what what is buddhism it's a faith about the goodness of humanity the buddha is a all-perfect
person person with perfect compassion perfect wisdom perfect patience a perfect teacher
and he tells us that we all can have that perfection as well do you think that's
possible though to be perfect because as humans you know it's natural that we're not perfect
but you know the fact that i know that i'm going towards infinity isn't it it's that journey that's
important so is that the goal of buddhism to be perfect no the goal is to go on that journey
towards perfection before i aim for perfection i need to aim to meditate without giggling the
monks squeeze in meditation throughout the whole day including when they eat in silence
there's just one problem i don't know how to use chopsticks do you have a [ __ ] knife yes
we do we do have fox and spoon would you like that yeah mother never taught me okay
that didn't go great but i'm feeling positive that walking meditation will be better for me
the monks break off to start their day still incorporating meditation into whatever task
they do one of the favorites gardening i think this form of meditation nurtures our mind so
it's very important for our physical as well as mental well-being it's the most nurturing thing
because nature is what nurtures us don't forget we are made up of the components of nature in
our body which is water earth air and fire which is within each and every one of us venerable meow
is a veteran monk here and one of the keenest gardeners you communicate with the tree okay but
after you get cleaned up you will be so beautiful and you will have such great you know energy from
the sun from the rain and next year you're even going to thrive much more you're so beautiful
i'm gonna trim you um you know just to make sure that you you stay trim and as beautiful as you are
i'm trying to be calm and meditate but i really am struggling with such a vicious dangerous pest
hovering close by there's bees in here right um no of course these trees they attract a lot of bees
well everywhere they're bees because they're flowers there would be bees
yeah see i'm afraid of bees that's i'd be terrified of a bee i've never been sung by
these but i imagine it hurts a lot so have you been sung by me yes i have you wouldn't die
but some people do die if they are allergic to that um yeah but um i survived it yeah
that's just afraid of bees gonna pop out he's very nervous so he's not feeling calm
it's just because i saw it that you're going i'm just terrified to
that's literally just like a theory like i think come back come back
come back you want to do something else you want to um i might sweep the stress of the bees
was just overwhelming surely sweeping is nice and relaxing right yeah yeah you have to use strength
no no no like this like this
this is no it's a different type of brush i usually vacuum it
it's a broom i've always called these a brush am i passing venerable no if you call it a brush
do you take a vowel of poverty i do i do when you take a vow of poverty then where
do you get your income well we have we have a little stipend that will keep us going and also
the community takes care of us so do you think money is evil then nothing is essentially evil
nothing is essentially good it's how we use it a bit more of a personal question that i've always
really been um interested in is do buddhas have a sex life as well no we take a vow of celibacy
buddhists do but i'm saying buddhist monastics so buddhist monastics take a vow of celibacy so
monks take strict vows but other buddhists choose to live by the five precepts
more like life rules don't kill don't steal don't perform sexual misconducts
don't lie don't be intoxicated then there are also buddhists who may not be ready to take
the five precepts and they're still good buddhists right so one step at a time
okay first step for me nailing meditation venerable yoji is an artist monk and has
developed her own form called mindful doodling she reckons that's going to work better for me
if you really do it the right way you can get to the meditative state it helps
you in the meditation because some people they can't really sit still and meditate
start to focus on your breathing and then as we draw you focus on the movement of your hand
are you thinking about the drawing as you're doing it no just focusing on the breathing so
whatever comes out of the hand you let it happen yes that's why it's doodling
it's looking bizarre see from the drawing in your mind you're a bit in the hurry that's why you see
your circles are a little bit um unstable yeah sure i may be unstable occasionally but that's
something i'm working on but what about all the other monks they can't be super happy all the
time how how do you guys deal with personality clashes between monks we are in a way required
to follow daily rituals what this means is that even if i do not wish to see someone i have to
the only difference is that during these five periods is silence
so i don't have to express my displeasure it forces me to look the person in the eyes
now i can't change the other person what can i change yourself myself this is when i go back to
my breast work i go back to softening myself and i go back to ask myself what can i do differently
so you're again looking inwards to what i can change and to recognize it sometimes
there's something in me the seat is in me that could have triggered the other person the monks
really seem to have figured out a way to live life peacefully with each other and themselves maybe
it's from years of practice across many many lives so what do you think then happens once we die
it depends on what i've done this life so i've met you claren as my friend so very likely in
the next life we'll meet again in good friendship because we've had such good friendships this time
do you believe we can come back as animals yes according to our belief system what we do this
life will give us the conditions for future life so for example if i'm always angry and jealous and
toxic i may come back as a viper as a snake as a python if i've always been very kind and tame
i may come back as a deer for example as a lovable animal what do you hope to come back as i hope to
come back as a human because i believe that as a human i can do more help more and i can become
i hope more enlightened my time at the temple is almost at an end but i want one more chance
to see if i can meditate like a mature adult now i've got one issue i can't cross my legs
so um i've attempted it before like but it's quite awful when i try so
can i still meditate without crossing my legs the idea about meditation is really about the mind
and not about the legs something i've always had when i've meditated is i get the giggles how do
i deal with that so karen it's just letting it calm and letting it go the funny thing about our
emotions and our thoughts is that the minute you start looking at them they get shy and when they
become shy they don't come back to you they calm let it go just watch it just watch it and let it
come let it go don't worry karen you won't disturb me so you'll be completely fine are you ready for
meditation yeah yeah i am adjust your back and your neck again tuck in your chin very gently
so karen what did you notice um i think i held in the urge i didn't
laugh you know it's quite relaxing and yeah if you feel quite when you when you open your eyes again
it feels like you know you've got to collect your bearings for a second almost that's right
yeah one day if you feel that you seem to have emptied out into space yeah feeling of calmness
i think the biggest takeaway for me was that they still have the same worries and stresses that we
have they still have all these same thoughts and feelings that we have as well but it's how
they deal with them um is what's different here we can learn a lot from monks they lead their lives
without an ounce of selfishness there's no ego they live for others they're experts at overcoming
problems sometimes without words with nothing but their mind and their breath it's up to us who we
are in this life and hopefully the next i'm gonna focus on my breath more um i'm gonna step back
away from problems and stresses when they come into my life as well and just just ask myself more
what what would a monk do maybe that's going to be my new new life motto what would a monk do you